


finding a Charge: Luna

by Lukra (49percentchanceofbees)



Category: Flight Rising
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-09
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2019-09-12 12:34:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 4,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16873008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/49percentchanceofbees/pseuds/Lukra
Summary: The guardian Luna discovers her Charge in a most inconvenient way.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ch 1-6: finding a Charge  
> Ch 7-8: vignette 1  
> Ch 9: vignette 2

“Let’s kill and loot it,” Delemont said.

“Why is that your first response to everything?” Xylia said, frustrated.

“Why did I bring you along on this hunt?” Delemont retorted. “That shrill voice of yours is grating on my nerves, and you’re terrible at this.” He turned and ostensibly addressed the empty room. “Hello, does anyone know where I can find a real Wildclaw? One who can fight?”

Berseth could tell from the glint in Delemont’s eye that he knew very well he was hitting Xylia in a vulnerable spot. She hated any suggestion that Wildclaws were inherently violent or savage. Though her convictions probably would have been more convincing if she didn’t respond by snarling wordlessly at Delemont. Well, Berseth couldn’t blame her.

He stepped between the two smaller dragons and waved to bring their attention back to the matter at hand. They stood in a domed room of delicate grey stone, some sort of ancient ruin, and in the center of the room hovered a glowing pink eyeball. They needed to decide what, if anything, to do about it.

“I … am actually leaning increasingly towards the ‘destroy it’ option,” Xylia said hesitantly. “I don’t like the way it’s looking at me.”

Delemont slapped her thigh lightly; his personality turned the gesture into an insult instead of a sign of companionship. “There might be hope for you yet, Sparkly.”

Xylia let out a ragged, exasperated breath, but held her tongue. Berseth placed a claw on her shoulder, smiling at her. He didn’t think she had to be a good hunter to be a good clan member. They all had their own strengths and weaknesses. If Delemont and Xylia were to swap hobbies, Delemont would be just as bad at painting as Xylia was at hunting.

“Let’s just go,” Xylia said, turning away. “Come on, Berseth. Delemont can fend for himself, if he’s so great.”

Berseth looked at Delemont, uncertain. The Mirror might be prickly, but he still didn’t want to leave a clan-mate alone out here at the Focal Point. 

“Go on, run along,” Delemont growled. “Like I need either of you.”

Shrugging, Berseth followed Xylia out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

“Flying feathers! What was that?”

If he could shout, he was probably all right. Luna dragged herself up onto the underground shore, exhausted. Between the flight and the swim she’d given it her all to get away from the harpies. Her first action had been to dump her burden on the shore, and only now did she find the energy to look up at him.

The cave was very nearly pitch-black, though a bit of light made it in through tiny shafts far above. Luna sure hoped she was right about there being another exit … The darkness itself didn’t bother her, though; as a Shadow dragon, she could see better in it than most. The harpy, meanwhile, was staring blindly into the gloom; he’d identified her general direction from the sound of her movements but was currently glaring at some point behind her wings. He was soaked and bedraggled, thin arms crossed over his bare chest.

“What – did?” he said in faltering, poorly-pronounced Draconic. Luna winced and pushed herself into a sitting position.

“Don’t tax yourself. I speak Harpy.”

“OK, then you can explain why you just kidnapped me and tried to drown me.” He was shaking a little, Luna noted with concern, but somehow she didn’t think he’d respond positively to the offer of a sheltering wing. Not right now.

“I wasn’t trying to drown you. I was getting away from the others. Who were going to execute you, if you recall.”

“Why?”

“Well, the matriarch said – ”

“Not that,” the harpy interrupted, waving his hand. “I know about … that. Why did you … bother?”

Luna looked down at him. Even after extensive experience with harpies, she couldn’t really read their expressions. Their faces were so small and flat, and the females she usually dealt with wore masks, anyway. Body language was a better bet, but his crossed arms and shivering were giving her mixed signals. At best she’d guess that he was angry and scared at once.

“You’re my Charge,” she said. With a bit of a laugh, she added, “Came as somewhat of a shock to me too.”

“Do I get any say in this?” he muttered, wrapping his arms more tightly around himself. The air in the cavern was cool and damp.

Luna hesitated, common sense and Guardian instincts at war. The former said that she could not force her companionship on someone who did not want it; the latter, that she had to.

“Would you rather go back to your sisters?” she said at last, which was perhaps a little cruel, but effective. The harpy looked down.

“No.” He sat down, legs folded under him and wings wrapped around him. Luna stepped forward and cautiously sat next to him, draping a wing over him. He flinched but didn’t get up.

“I’m Luna. What’s your name?”

It took him a long time to answer, and from the way he stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, Luna was pretty sure that he was making something up on the spot. But she had no desire to call him out on it.

“Cavern.”


	3. Chapter 3

They sat in silence for quite some time, till Cavern spoke up again: “Is this all you had planned? It’s cold and uncomfortable in here and I want to go home.”

Luna looked down in surprise, peering into the shelter of her wing. “You can’t. They’ll kill you.”

 _And they won’t exactly be happy with me either_ , Luna thought dryly, but her own safety was not her main concern. She could not return Cavern to his brethren, and therefore she did not need to worry about their spears perforating her hide. She was more worried that her Charge would be uncooperative.

He hunched his shoulders, wrapping his wings more tightly around himself. “Your home, then. Just get me out of here. What are we waiting around for?”

Luna didn’t have an answer to that. She’d been thinking in circles the entire time, trying to puzzle out the consequences of her actions, always distracted by a warm feeling rising instinctively now that she was a true Guardian, Charge and all. But she probably needed to do better by that Charge than leaving him to sit in a damp cave all night.

“You can ride on my back,” Luna offered, heaving herself to her feet.

“I’ll walk.” He took two uncertain steps and looked at Luna. “Which way?”

Luna stifled a smile, then remembered that it was too dark for him to see her and let it bloom. He’d been walking straight towards the water. She gently nudged him in the right direction. “Here.”

They stepped out into a radiant sunset, sending rays of pink and red across the sky. Cavern shivered.

“It’ll be dark soon,” he said.

Luna nodded, not sure what he expected her to make of that. Cavern, meanwhile, seemed occupied with fluffing out and preening his feathers, now that he could see well enough to do so. He also shot several surreptitious glances at Luna. Well, it was probably the first chance he’d had to take in her appearance.

“Good fortune.” She lifted her head, sniffing at the breeze. “Harpies don’t like flying in the dark; they’ll probably have stopped hunting us. 

“I _know_.” Cavern crossed his arms over his chest, and Luna realized that he didn’t like the dark any better than his sisters. Less, probably; need might drive warriors to fly at night, but they didn’t allow their male children to become warriors.

“I’ll carry you,” Luna offered. Cavern shook his head, a quick, jerky motion. “Or you can ride on my back.”

“That’s ridiculous,” he said. “Fine.”

Scarcely waiting for her to bend down, he clambered up her shoulder and settled in between her wings, clinging to her spines and the clumps of gems sprouting from her crystalline skin. _Good thing I’m not a Ridgeback_ , Luna though, before remembering that if she were a Ridgeback, she would not have been compelled to rescue Cavern in the first place. She would not have thrown her career away, but he would be dead.

“Hold on tight,” she said, spreading her wings.


	4. Chapter 4

Luna wasn’t sure what alerted her first. The harpies were quiet, roosting; perhaps it was just the flash of a pale feather in the moonlight against the dark foliage. At once, she dove for the cover of the trees. Her coloration might blend in with the night sky, but she was too sparkly to rely on camouflage.

“What are you doing?” Cavern said, stirring on her back. “You don’t live _here_ , do you?”

“Shh,” Luna said, shaking her head. She remembered a moment later that it was probably too dark for him to see her. “There are harpies guarding the lair entrance.”

She felt Cavern’s grip on her spines tighten. “Your clan …”

“If they’re there, it’s because my clan lets them.” Luna’s jaw clenched, and she lowered her head. “It’s my job to keep the peace with the local harpies. My clan won’t be pleased with what I’ve done.”

She didn’t think her clan would harm her, but Cavern was another matter. They would not risk war with the Beastclans over one bedraggled bird; she knew her leaders well enough to understand that. Even if he were her Charge … she didn’t have the influence to protect him, not now that she’d thrown her own service to the clan away by offending the harpies.

“What did you do, that they want you dead so badly?” Luna asked, more out of frustration than from a sincere desire to know. Why didn’t they just let Luna take him, if they wanted him out of their clan?

Cavern shifted, shrinking against her back. “It was an accident. Mostly.”

Luna remembered the harpy mother’s words: they’d planned to make him an example to any other males who might step out of line. She had an uneasy feeling about the guilt in Cavern’s voice. If he had truly done something terrible … Luna found, to her shame, that it didn’t matter to her. He was her Charge. She didn’t think there was anything he could do to make her stop defending him, and the idea scared her, because she could think of some pretty terrible possibilities for what he’d done.

She’d just have to keep an eye on him, and she’d been planning to do that anyway. Back to the matter at hand.


	5. Chapter 5

With a bit of a sigh, Luna turned away from the entrance to what had been, all in all, a very comfortable lair. She walked away, under the trees; she didn’t want to risk the harpies spotting her in the air. Of course, she’d probably fare even worse if they caught her on the ground, but in the shadows she was less likely to catch their eye. Not enough moonlight reached down here to sparkle off her hide.

“Where are we going?” Cavern asked. “Is there another way in?”

“No.” Actually, there was, but the harpies weren’t stupid. If they were there with her clan’s cooperation, they would be guarding all the entrances. “We’re going to have to find somewhere else to stay.”

“Your clan won’t defend you?” He sounded awfully confused, considering that his own clan was trying to kill him.

“They might defend me. Not you.” Luna paused for a moment as the magnitude of what she was doing sank in. She was going to leave her clan without a word, leave her entire life behind … Well, she would have to write them from wherever she ended up. In fact, she found that she wasn’t even upset; or she was, in a distant, easy-to-ignore way. She had not been close to anyone in her clan. They would hold her down to take Cavern from her, if they had to. If they’d been a little cleverer, she might have stumbled right into that trap, instead of spotting the harpies and being warned away.

“So where are we going?” Cavern asked in a very small voice.

“I don’t know. Away.” Luna ducked under a low-hanging branch. “We’ll find a new clan, I suppose.”

 _There has to be someone who needs a washed-up ambassador who’s thrown away all her influence._  She had to have skills besides familiarity with harpies, but they refused to come to mind.

Cavern was silent for a long moment. Then he said, “What do you want from me?”

“You,” Luna said, surprised. “To guard you. It’s in the name. Guardian.”

“Why me?”  
  
“I’d tell you if I knew.”


	6. Chapter 6

The screeching woke Luna half a second before Cavern burst out of the trees, half-flying and half-hopping, and threw himself down beside her.

“Mirrors,” he gasped, a bit unnecessarily, since a black Mirror had already rushed out of the forest and stopped short to stare at Luna.

“Is that bird yours?” the dragon said.

“Yes,” Luna said, curling a talon protectively around Cavern. Some Guardian she was turning out to be. Though, in her defense, she had _told_  Cavern not to wander off because they were traveling through unfamiliar territory and she didn’t know what dangers might present themselves.

“False alarm,” the Mirror called over his shoulder. “It’s just some sparkle-spike’s pet.”

“He’s my Charge,” Luna said, before she’d considered the wisdom of imparting that piece of information to a stranger. Would the Mirror be more or less likely to attack, knowing how important Cavern was to her? On one hand, he could hurt her easily by killing the harpy; on the other, he might not want to risk getting between a Guardian and her Charge.

The Mirror shrugged, apparently uninterested, and turned away. Then he groaned as a purple Tundra emerged from the trees, small twigs sticking out of her long fur.

“You’re going to want to stop and chat, aren’t you?” the Mirror asked. “We’re _supposed_  to be hunting.”

“I won’t detain you,” the Tundra said sweetly. “Just be sure not to get hurt so badly I can’t find your broken body and heal you.”

“ _Thanks_ ,” the Mirror snarled, and was gone among the rustling leaves.

“Please excuse Delemont,” the Tundra said, turning to Luna. “He’s … not social.”

“I noticed,” Luna said wryly.

“Is it gone?” Cavern asked in Harpy, poking his head out from behind Luna’s claws. His feathers were puffed up, and he was shaking; he ducked back into shelter as soon as he spotted the Tundra. Luna was reminded that he didn’t speak more than a couple words of Draconic.

“It’s all right,” she told him in his own tongue. The Mirror had run off, and Tundras ate plants. Of course, the purple dragon _could_  always be hunting for other, more carnivorous members of her clan, but neither of them had shown much interest in trying to take Cavern from Luna. Sensible, she thought. She didn’t really have to ask why Delemont had attacked Cavern in the first place: he was a Mirror hunting.

“I’m Nesita, of Clan Lukra,” the Tundra said. “Do you speak Harpy, then? That’s interesting.”

“Yes,” Luna said, distracted. Some two days ago they’d passed into the Crystalspine Reaches. Nesita’s eyes were pink, and so had been those of her friend. They probably had a lair around here somewhere. “I’m Luna. Of … currently of no clan.”

“Really?” Nesita said. “You do smell a bit under the weather.”

Luna smiled ruefully. The journey had not been easy. Flying at night to avoid harpy patrols, scrounging up whatever food she could during the day, always with hardly a clue where she was going and no plan for the future. She could eat almost anything, of course, but providing for Cavern was more difficult. Not to mention that they’d been attacked by plenty of wild beasts who thought a solitary dragon an easy target. So far she’d prevailed, but Luna had new scars.

“I had to leave my previous clan in somewhat unexpected circumstances,” Luna said. “It’s a long story.”

“I like long stories,” Nesita said. “Do you want to come home with me? Not necessarily permanently, though … you’re welcome, unless you have terrible appetites that I haven’t sniffed out. Then again, we have Zarya.”

Luna didn’t know what the last sentence referred to. What she did know was that she could use four walls around her and a solid meal. There was no future for a dragon alone, or for the harpy with her. She might as well check out this clan.


	7. Chapter 7

Cavern shot around a corner and was safely ensconced on Luna’s back before it occurred to him that his perch was unusually smooth and high up. And dark.

The dragon currently twisting its neck to look curiously at Cavern was not Luna. Still a guardian, so he hadn’t gone completely blind, but this one was male, bigger, and black-scaled instead of Luna’s midnight blue. Pale purple lines traced their way across his back instead of the gems that clustered on Luna’s skin.

“Oh,” the harpy said.

The dragon blinked at him. Cavern was fairly sure the dragon couldn’t reach him, up here between his wings. Of course, that wouldn’t help if it could breathe fire or lightning or whatever dragons customarily did. He didn’t know how to tell their different elements apart.

“Hello,” Cavern said.

The dragon shook his head and shrugged, gesturing with one claw towards his webbed ear. Of course. He didn’t speak Harpy, and Cavern didn’t speak Dragon. After contemplating the situation for a moment, the guardian folded his wings and started walking away, making Cavern grab at his spines.

“Where are you taking me?” Cavern said, knowing that asking was futile. The dragon didn’t respond. Of course, he could get _off_  the dragon at any time. But that would put him in the range of grabbing claws and teeth … He decided he was comfortable where he was.

The guardian first poked his head into Luna’s chamber, but she was absent – on a hunting trip, as Cavern knew all too well. Cavern was considering climbing down now, hiding, and waiting for Luna to come back, but then the dragon was on the move again. Feathers ruffled, Cavern crouched on the dragon’s back and waited.

After some time, they passed into a large cave with two grass-lined cradles of craggy pink rock, both empty. There were a couple young dragons sleeping in a heap on one side of the room, and the purple fluffy one who’d first invited Luna to the clan watched them from the other. In one of the cradles – _no, they’re nests_ , Cavern realized – a yellow-green dragon carefully arranged more grass. What was that breed called again? He couldn’t remember. It was the birdy one, though.

The purple fuzzball looked up when Cavern’s ride entered and came walking over to him. She talked at the larger dragon for a little while, receiving nods and head-shakes, and then went up on her hind legs against his shoulder to get a closer look at Cavern, who leaned away.

The furry dragon got down again and said something to the guardian; Cavern couldn’t understand the words, but he thought he caught a light-hearted tone. Then she looked up at Cavern and said something apparently to him. He shook his head. “I don’t speak your language.”

The dragon gestured for Cavern to come down. He shook his head again. There was more meaningless talking, some of which seemed to be directed at him, and then the guardian shrugged, nodded, and sat down beside the fuzzy dragon.

The purple dragon patted the guardian’s flank, then called something to the yellowish one and walked out of the room. Cavern didn’t move. He really should have jumped down back at Luna’s cave, shouldn’t he?


	8. Chapter 8

Cavern couldn’t tell how much time passed. Every moment he spent on the back of the apparently dormant guardian felt like an hour. The yellow dragon kept whistling, or singing–the harpy wasn’t actually sure which noises constituted language for dragons. Every time the trilling started up again, Cavern jumped.

Finally, the purple dragon returned, closely followed by Luna. Cavern instantly launched himself from his current perch and landed on Luna’s back, nestling in her sweater.

“What were you doing, wandering around like that?” she said.

“I was hungry and you were gone,” Cavern muttered.

“So you decided to just leave?” Luna sounded almost more worried than Cavern had been. Shaking her head, she turned away and spoke to the other dragons for a time. Cavern understood none of it, of course, but their tones seemed friendly. The black guardian still didn’t speak, but he smiled and nodded–at least, Cavern thought that was what passed for a smile among dragons.

They presumably said their farewells, and Luna turned and exited the cave without another word to Cavern. Was she angry?

“I thought you said it was safe here,” Cavern said, although he hadn’t really believed that. Spotting a mirror down the corridor had sent him around that corner and onto the male guardian’s back.

“I think it is,” Luna said, but she didn’t sound sure. “I think it is, but I need to know where you are. And I don’t know all these dragons well yet.”

A dragon walked past going the other way, one of the big spiky ones, twice Luna’s size. She glanced down and smiled a smile of many teeth. Cavern clung tighter to Luna’s sweater.

“I’m sure they’re nice dragons,” Luna said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself. “I just don’t think … I worry. I don’t know them all very well, and they don’t all know me.”

Cavern said nothing. A feathery dragon with a bow on his neck slinked past, whistling tunelessly. He didn’t so much as glance at Luna, clearly intent on some other purpose.

“I just need to know where you are,” Luna repeated. They’d reached her chamber and she flopped down within. She sounded exhausted. “I’ll do better. I can leave you with Nesita if I have to, and I think Bartos expressed interest in learning to speak Harpy. I’ll figure it out.”

Cavern didn’t say anything. He didn’t think his opinion was required.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna asks her Charge, Cavern the harpy, about some comments made by other harpies.

“Cavern,” Luna said.

“Yes?”

“You’re my Charge. I have to look after you, no matter what. I won’t let anything happen to you. So why don’t you tell me: Who did you kill?”

Luna could feel the harpy go still on her back. “What … Why do you think I killed someone?”

The guardian twisted her neck around to look at Cavern. “When I offered to take charge of the clan’s beastclan relations, the harpies rejected me. ‘Vassal of a kin-slayer,’ they called me. So who did you slay?”

There was a silence. Finally, Cavern said, miserably, “It was an accident.”

“Most lawful societies do not execute people for accidents.”

“It was!” Cavern jumped to his feet, feathers ruffled. “I – they wouldn’t believe me because – I didn’t like him, but I didn’t mean to kill him! We were supposed to be sparring! I tried to run away, after, before anyone saw, but … His mother was so angry.”

Luna picked through the tangle of words, trying to make sense of it. Something stood out: “Sparring? Male harpies don’t fight.”

“I know,” Cavern said, with a petulant snort. “I wanted to. I was supposed to be learning poetry and clan history and all that boring stuff. I didn’t like it – I wanted to fight, wanted to help. He called me stupid, said I should be traded to another clan before they knew any better. So I challenged him. He wouldn’t fight me, said it was undignified – said it was proof … so I called him names, insulted his father, anything to get under his skin. And he came at me and I hit him and … I barely remember, everything happened so fast, and then he was dead and his sisters … I think if I’d been a girl they would have killed me then and there.”

Luna sighed. The more Cavern explained, the less she wanted to know.

“His mother said this was what came of cosseting males, allowing them to do as they pleased.” Cavern snorted again. “As if I was ever allowed to do what I wanted. But she said they had to make an example of me, and she was … influential. My mother is dead.”

“I’m sorry,” Luna said, automatically. Cavern didn’t answer.


End file.
